Double-Cast, Self-Aware Musical to Close Season for WT Theatre

Photo: Members of the Festival cast of WT Theatre's "[title of show]" are, from left, Socorra Carrillo, Mitch Grosso, Aidan Tsichlis and Hayley Hurst.

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

CANYON, Texas — Eight student actors will play the creators of a musical, characters based on the creators of that musical and, in a very real sense, themselves in the next theatrical production from West Texas A&M University.

WT Theatre will close its season with the musical “[title of show],” featuring two casts in video-on-demand performances April 8 to 11.

Written by creators Jeff Bowen and Hunter Bell in 2004 for the New York Musical Theatre Festival, the original musical is a postmodern, metatextual show about the creation of a show — about its own creation, essentially.

“It’s a musical about two guys writing a musical about two guys writing a musical. This is a surprisingly complex show, but it’s also so simple in regards to the premise,” said director Stephen Crandall, the Royal R. Brantley Endowed Professor of Theatre Studies and head of WT’s Department of Art, Theatre and Dance. “And it’s a lot of fun, too.”

“This show is very aware of itself,” said musical director Bradley Behrmann, assistant professor of musical theater. “The music is aware of the forms and functions of itself — this is now our duet song, for instance. This is our buddy song. We love meta-musicals here, and this is one that is very clever and witty and is very aware of what it’s doing whenever it’s doing it.”

The Festival cast, which will be featured April 8 and 9, will include Aidan Tsichlis, junior musical theatre major from Plano, as Jeff; Mitch Grosso, senior musical theatre major from Waxahachie, as Hunter; Hayley Hurst, junior musical theatre major from Melissa, as Heidi; and Socorra Carrillo, senior musical theatre major from Amarillo, as Susan.

The Medley cast, which will be featured April 10 and 11, will include Nolan Quintanilla, sophomore musical theatre major from Canyon, as Jeff; Zane Wells, junior acting major from Amarillo, as Hunter; Anna Holmes, senior musical theatre major from Lubbock, as Heidi; and Erin Gayan, senior musical theatre major from Garland, as Susan.

Photo: Members of the Medley cast of "[title of show]" are, from left, Erin Gayan, Zane Wells, Nolan Quintanilla and Anna Holmes.

The WT actors play characters based on Bowen and Bell, as well as their friends and collaborators Susan Blackwell and Heidi Blickenstaff.

“When the show was originally staged, they were playing themselves. Now, we’re playing them playing themselves,” Holmes said. “Stephen has encouraged us to find ourselves within what they’ve written, so we can really be ourselves and use how we would react in those situations.”

Double-casting the show gives more students the chance to perform, and it also lets them get firsthand experience in seeing how different actors can approach the same character.

“We’re watching each other do the exact same thing. I’ve stolen stuff from Zane, and maybe he’s stolen from me,” Grosso said. “It’s really cool to work alongside someone with the exact same role.”

The show is considered to be rated R for strong language.

Tickets are $15 for individuals and $30 for families, or free for WT students, faculty and staff. A 25 percent discount is available for those purchasing tickets to both casts; for a coupon, email artsboxoffice@wtamu.edu.

The performances can be watched at any time within the two-day run of each cast.

A commitment to the arts is a key component of the University’s long-term plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

About West Texas A&M University

WT is located in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. With enrollment of more than 10,000, WT offers 60 undergraduate degree programs, 40 master’s degrees and two doctoral degrees. The University is also home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 15 men’s and women’s athletics programs.

—WTAMU—